Agenda - 05-06-1991 - Laserfiche WebLink

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11 Planning Board has proposed the designation of Transition Area on the northern side of the interchange, but continues the current practice in the Hillsborough Township component of the Land Use Element in proposing I -40 as a natural urban boundary, with rural areas to be located south and west of the freeway. Recent efforts along these lines have included a proposal by the Town Commissioners to recognize I -40 as the transition area boundary. Discussion of this proposal is ongoing. In addition to the Hillsborough Cooperative Planning efforts, this interchange is among several areas being looked at by the Orange County Planning Board /Economic Development Commission Work Group and the Economic Development Commission's Target Advisory Group as a potential area for employment generating, tax base - enhancing activities. However, this work is in the early stages, and evaluation of this site in that regard would be premature. The applicants have been made aware of these effort. The issue of a supporting population density in the vicinity of this site is one that would likely be answered by both time and the proposal itself. The question of a supporting adjacent population in and of itself is not a major obstacle, given future urban densities north of the interstate and the accessibility of the transportation network. However, the question of adequate public service provision without urban services remains. The applicants propose to use the OWASA water line on Old Chapel Hill - Hillsborough Road as a source of water supply, but OWASA has indicated that this large pipeline is not appropriate for service. Other necessary public services - public safety and fire protection - would be provided by rural agencies such as the County Sheriff's Department and the Rural Orange Fire Department. One policy implication of increased non- residential development in this area without the full range of urban services could be future service inadequacies - especially if development intensity were to increase. In summary, the question of non - residential development at this interchange is one that has been discussed in the public forum before. The 1984 area study resulted in a decision by the Board against designating a node. The applicant has asserted that the completion of I -40 has created a changed condition which warrants the designation of a Commercial Activity Node on these 33 acres. It is possible that such a proposal might be feasible and appropriate in the long -term (beyond the plan period ending in 2001). Thus, the designation of this area as 20 -Year Transition may be appropriate in the next phase of the plan.